The Story Matters
by GCatsPjs
Summary: The door has closed, and everything has changed.
1. Tragedy

**Before you ask, no. I haven't forgotten about my other stories. Also, if you know my writing, you know that this will be a bumpy ride. I appreciate comments, but I ask that you please remain optimistic, and understand that I am the one writing the story. These aren't my characters, I am simply borrowing them. This story will begin following the episode 'Get A Clue'. I hope you enjoy.**

The sound of the door slamming seemed to echo in the hallway a lot louder than he thought it would. His chest tightened in pain, and he turned one more time toward the door. He wanted to knock again, but knew better. He knew that Alexis was a strong woman who would not budge on her position, not now. She was as stubborn as her father, as driven as her mother, and sometimes more dramatic than her grandmother.

Castle quickly turned and walked toward the stairs, taking each step with caution as it took him away from the apartment door, away from his little girl. He cursed himself for his behavior, his scorn. He cursed himself for his selfishness at not sharing the news of his engagement with her in his own words. He stepped to the street and was met with the sounds of the city. There was a time when the traffic, sirens, and shouts of people hailing a taxi was soothing and familiar. Right now, they were just a cruel distraction. With a furrowed brow, and a firm step, he marched down the sidewalk past the car. He felt betrayed by time, by the future. He felt betrayed by himself. He tried to remember when Alexis wasn't a grown up, when she wasn't the voice in his ear telling him not to go too far.

Somewhere in the past few years, that voice had changed. It had gone from his sweet girl's echo of 'I love you, Daddy', to the sound of a door slamming in his face. His feet took him down the damp sidewalk into the unfamiliar streets of Alexis' new neighborhood. Castle's mind raced and he walked with a quick, purposeful pace. His memories flashed from one moment with Alexis to the next. He could feel the weight of her tiny body in his arms, and the way those crystal eyes stared up at him, begging him to protect her. He could hear her whispered secrets of gifts she wanted, or her quick and excited explanation of a book she had just finished. Castle flexed his hand and made a tight fist, trying to wipe out the memory of his little girl's hand in his, trying to forget what it felt like to be that special person that she always ran to. His footfalls became louder, and he felt a bit winded as he continued on blindly into the quickly approaching darkness of evening.

Stepping off the curb, his phone rang, jarring him out of his self imposed trance. The ring made him smile, and he brought the phone to his ear. "Hey."

"Hey." Beckett's voice was clear and filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"No," he said, turning his head. There was no time to react.

The impact of the grill of the car in his hip caused him to shout, the pain alone was enough to knock the wind out of him. His body twisted grotesquely as his feet left the pavement and his body rolled onto the hood of the car and his body smashed the windshield. His head hit the frame of the car, and his body rolled forward as the car stopped, landing lifeless on the pavement, his hand still clutching his phone.

He could hear Kate's voice in the distance, as his vision began to darken, shouts of people around him didn't sound familiar. The darkness beckoned. He could feel his body jostle before the world went dark, his personal space invaded. He concentrated on the sound of his heartbeat in his ears, waited for the pain to stop. The last thing he saw before he lost his battle with consciousness was the crystal blue eyes of his daughter disappearing behind a veil of black.


	2. Tone

Beckett was frozen in place when the line went dead. Her hand was trembling when she realized she was shouting into a phone that was no longer connected. Her hand grasped the phone tightly, and she looked around, realizing that there were several sets of eyes on her. "It's Castle," she grunted without looking up, pushing past Esposito standing by his desk gathering his things. Ryan had left a short time earlier for home.

"Beckett!" Esposito called, barely garnering a sideways glance as she ran for the elevator. "Beckett, what's going on?" He picked up his pace and grabbed her arm as she slammed her finger into the button.

"I have to find him. Something happened. He was on the phone with me, and then he wasn't." The panic was making her breathing heavy. She slammed her fist down on the button.

"Hey, it's not going to work any faster if you abuse it. Did you try calling him back? Maybe he was just disconnected."

"It wasn't like that. I heard him. I heard it. I just, I don't think… I have to find him." She said, pushing her way into the elevator, she slammed her hand into the panel, and pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her hand was trembling violently.

"Here," Esposito said, grabbing the phone. He pushed the 'send' button and waited, glancing nervously at Beckett. "It went right to voice mail."

"I told you, something happened. I don't know if he was in his car at the time, or if he was walking." She rubbed her face with her hand, trying to concentrate, trying to think. "He went to see Alexis. I called to see how it went."

"Where does Alexis live? We'll start there. Call her." Esposito said calmly. He rarely saw Beckett so wound up. He could tell that she was seriously losing her hold on herself. "Beckett?"

Beckett looked at him, and grabbed her phone. "I don't have Alexis' phone number." She pressed a number on her cell phone and put it to her ear.

"What about her address, did Castle ever tell you where she moved to?"

Beckett glared, and his mouth clamped shut. "Lanie, do you have Alexis' cell number? Yeah, it's important. Thanks." She hung up the phone and dialed the numbers that Lanie had recited to her, pausing only for a moment to glance at Esposito and step off the elevator when the doors opened. She stopped a few steps away, and grunted frustration. "She's not picking up. Damn it!" Beckett shouted as she hung up the phone. She glanced to Esposito and he smiled as he hung up his phone. "What?"

"You forgot to call the one person who knows all, and tells all."

"Martha!"

"That's right." He smirked "Let's roll!" Esposito said, starting for his car. It was just a moment before he heard the rhythmic stomp of Beckett's boots behind him.

She didn't argue with him, knowing that he was already concerned for her well-being. Internally, Esposito was hoping that whatever she had heard was just one of those weird quirky problems that Castle seemed to get involved in. Those types of issues usually started seriously, but always spiraled into something that ended up as joke fodder at the next murder investigation.

He maneuvered through the streets with Beckett at his side. She had seemingly calmed down, but her anxiety was obvious in the way she was fidgeting. She dialed Castle's number again and again, hoping that the next try would yield something more than his ridiculous voicemail message. Esposito was weaving through traffic carefully, and glanced to Beckett just as she hung up again. "You're really spooked by this."

"If you had heard what was on the other end of the phone, Espo, you'd be spooked too," she whispered. Her eyes widened when they turned the corner, an ambulance was speeding down the street toward them, and lights of several officers were stopping traffic. Beckett could feel her stomach drop at the sound of the sirens, and jumped from the car before Esposito came to a complete stop. She heard him call to her, but it fell on deaf ears.

She ran quickly toward the policemen on the corner, her badge already at the ready. The sight of the smashed taxi caused her to stop in her tracks, and her stomach lurched. "What happened here?"

"Car-pedestrian accident," one officer stated glancing to his partner.

"Pretty nasty too. Body was bent in ways that nobody should be bent. Were you called for this? Just a car-pedestrian…" he stopped when he noticed that Beckett had lost all color in her face. "Detective Beckett?"

"You didn't ID him?" she breathed.

"Him? How'd you know it was a…" he stopped and watched her walk quickly toward the shards of broken glass. "There was no ID on him; I think one of the gawkers ran off with it."

"It's Castle," she stammered, half to the officers, half to herself.

"Beckett?" Esposito called, flashing his badge and walking toward her quickly.

"Richard Castle," she said flatly. She reached down and picked up the discarded cell phone, smashed but recognizable. "It's Castle," she said loudly, turning to find Esposito looking into her eyes with concern.

"Hey," Esposito said, reaching for her shoulder, she turned. "Hey, it'll be alright."

"How, Espo? How is it going to be alright?" She asked him angrily. She could see the surprise in his face and shook her head. "We need to find out where he's being taken. We don't even know what shape he's in." Quickly, her panic turned to motivation. She turned and marched back toward the direction of Esposito's car. She could hear him jogging to catch up with her, and could feel him pushing up alongside her. "Don't say a word."

"I wasn't going to say anything," he assured her. "Let's get a handle on what hospital that ambulance is taking him to, and once we find out his status, we'll call his mom and Alexis."

"Right," she muttered. On the outside she was all business, but on the inside she could feel her heart tearing to shreds with each heartbeat.


End file.
